Maternity foundation garment



June 13, 1944. s. L. WELSCH MATERNITY FCSUNDATION GARMENT Filed Dec. 4, 1942 58( 66, 54Mu z. WELSCH] Patented June 13, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MATERNITY FOUNDATION GARMENT Application December 4, 1942, Serial No. 467,833

4 Claims.

This invention relates to maternity foundation garments.

The main object of the invention is to provide a garment of the character described having simple and highly improved means for adjusting its girth at different horizontal levels to conform to the changing contour of a wearer.

An ancillary object is to provide a maternity foundation garment which shall be simple and economical to manufacture, easy to don, and comfortable to wear, and which shall afford good figure control.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exem plified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is aview of the inside of a foundation garment embodying my invention when the same is spreadout;

Fig. 2 is a detail view showing the garment adjusted to accommodate a relatively low abdominal bulge;

Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views showing successive steps in-manipulating the fastenings of the garment and an expansion pleat toprovide a fine adjustment for varying'the girth, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawing, If! denotes a maternity foundation garment constructed in accordance with my invention. Said garment includes a front section l2 adapted to overlie the abdomen and a rear section l4 adapted to overlie the back and flanks.

The frontsection I2 comprises a pair of central inelastic fabric panels l4, I5 vertically joined by a line of stitching l8, which permits relative movement of the panels transversely of the wearer. For this purpose, said stitching l8 may comprise elastic thread, zig-zag stitching, or featherfagoting, the latter being shown in Fig. 1. The lower portions of the two central panels l4, l5 are backed up by a soft lower fabric panel 20, raving a n'apped cushioning surface facing the wearer. A plurality of reinforcing stays 2! held, in the usual manner, in vertical'pockets stiffen the central panels 14, I6 above the lower panel 20.

The outer edges of the central panels l4, l6 have stitched thereto inelastic fabric side panels 22, 24 which are each provided with a shallow vertical pleat 26. Said pleats are formed by gathering a narrow vertical section in each of the side panels 22 and 24 and closing the mouth of the gather with a lineof stitching 28. The function of this stitching and of the pleats 26 will later be described. Each side panel 22, 24 has tapes 30, 32 secured to its outer edge. The tapes have permanently associated therewith a plurality of linearly arranged, uniformly spaced halves of a detachable attaching means such as hooks 34.

The rear section 14 comprises an inelastic fabric panel 38 which is wide enough to cover the back of a wearer and to extend partially around the flanks. The panel 38 is stiffened by a large number of stays 40 attached to the panel with binding tapes 42. A deep vertical pleat 44 extends down the center of said panel 38. Said pleat is formed by making a deep gather in the center of the panel 38 and sewing together the mouth of the gather with a row of stitching 48. In addition to this row of stitching 46, the pleat 44 is also provided with a plurality of rows of stitching 4B, 50, and 52, each of which is parallel to the row of stitching 46 but is progressively and uniformly spaced further therefrom and nearer the fold 54 of the gather 44. Preferably the distance between adjacent rows of stitching, such as, for example, the rows 46 and 48 and between the last row of stitching 52 and fold 54 are substantially equal to the depth of short pleats 26. The function of the stitches 46-52 and of the deep pleat 44 will later be described. The lower central portion of the wide panel 38, including the lower part of the deep pleat 54, is reinforced by an inelastic fabric panel 56 through which the several rows of stitches 4652 pass.

At each side edge of the wide panel 38'there is secured a side panel 58, 60 of a fabric which has a substantial resilience circumferentially of the garment and a lesser resilience at right an- ,gles thereto. As will later be pointed out, these resilient side panels cooperate in a unique manher with an adjustable means, not yet fully de scribed but including the hooks 34, to adjust the girth of the garment Ill where desired and thus accommodate an abdominal bulge regardless of its location. The lower edges of the side panels 58, 69 slope steeply upwardly toward the front of the wearer.

In accordance with afeature of my-invention,

said side panels are each reinforced by an obliquely disposed band 64 comprising a flattened knitted tube which is inherently resilient parallel to the tubular axis and has its ends anchored adjacent the edges of the side panels. Since the bands 64 are not as resilient as the side panels 58, 60, they are made slightly longer than the distance between their anchoring points to provide slack when the garment is off the wearer (see Fig. 1). During use of the garment this slack is taken up and the knitted bands share the strain imposed upon the resilient side panels. Due to the slack, at the time the bands begin to aid the resilient panels in controlling the wearers figure, the resiliency ofthe bands and that of the already stretched panels will be approximately equal so that said bands and panels will thereafter stretch together and equally carry the imposed strain. This operation of the knitted bands is facilitated by disposing the tubular axis of each band parallel to the inclined lower edge of the resilient side panel 58, 60 with which the band is associated.

Tapes 6%, 68 secured to the lateral edges of the side panels 58, 60 each have associated therewith two parallel rows of linearly arranged, uniformly vertically spaced halves of a detachable attaching means, such as eyes it, adapted to cooperate with the hooks mounted on the tapes 30, 32 at the side edges of the front section l2.

Panels 12 of a loosely-woven fabric, secured to the inner surface of the garment, are stitched to and back-up the tapes E6, 68. Each of these panels is sufiiciently wide to underlie the area defined by the parallel rows of eyes 10 and to extend laterally to both sides thereof. The warp and woof of these panels 12 extend circumferentially and vertically of the garment. The panels 12 may have a soft napped surface on the interior face of the garment to cushion the hooks 34 and eyes 10.

In accordance with a feature of the invention, the spacing between parallel rows of eyes It is substantially equal to the distance between adjacent rows of stitching 46-52 on the deep pleat 44, between the row of stitching 52 and fold 54 of the deep pleat 44, and between the rows of stitching 28 and folds of the shallow pleats 25.

The foregoing constitute the structural elements of a maternity foundation garment embodying my invention. The garment is used in the following manner to advantageously utilize such elements:

When the garment is first worn by a pregnant Woman, its contour and size are correct if the hooks 34 engage the inner row of eyes I closest to the center of the back panel 38. As the weight of the wearer increases during pregnancy and before any abdominal bulge is noticeable, the garment can be let out to accommodate for increase in girth by opening one of the rows of stitching 28 or 46. mostly at the front of the wearer the rows of stitching 28 may be let out first, while, if at the rear, the row of stitching 46 will be the first to be opened. Additional increases in girth can be taken care of by opening the rows of stitching 48, 50, and 52 in the deep pleat 44.

It will be noted that when one of the rows of stitching, for example the row 28 or 46, is opened, the girth of the garment is increased by an amount twice that of the distance between the rows of stitching 46, 48 or between a row of stitching 28 and the fold line of a shallow pleat 26. However, this might be too sudden an increase If the increase in girth is in girth and might not permit the garment to afford a proper support to the wearer. To prevent the same from happening, it is preferable to first increase the girth of the garment by disengaging one of the rows of hooks 34 from the inner row of eyes 10 and then engaging this row of hooks with the outer row of eyes (furthest from the center of the panel 38). In such manner the girth of the garment will be increased by an amount equal to the distance between two adjacent rows of eyes 10, an amount which is approximately equal to one half the distance the circumference of the garment is lengthened when a row of stitching 23 or 46--52 is opened.

For the next increase in girth, the wearer should open one of the rows of stitching 26, 4652 and at the same time transfer a row of hooks 34 from an outer row of eyes 10 to an inner row of eyes. The result of this operation will be to increase the girth of the garment by an amount equal to only approximately one half the amount the garment is let out upon opening such stitch- In Figs. 3 and 4 respectively, I have illustrated the position of the rows of hooks and eyes before and after the garment is let out in'accordance with the foregoing procedure. The dot-anddash lines in Fig. 4 illustrate that portion of the addition to the girth, caused by opening the pleat 26, which is taken up by transferring the hooks from the outer to the inner row of. eyes.

When an abdominal bulge becomespronounced, the garment, by virtue of its construction, can be easily manipulated to increase the girth of only that portion thereof in the vicinity of the bulge. Moreover, this adjustment, although made with the simple means embodied in the foregoing construction, does not disturb the smooth fit of the garment. Such adjustment is carried out by connecting the hooks 34 and eyes 10 in such manner that at points vertically above and below the bulge the hooks 34 are attached to the inner rows of eyes 10 and in the area of the garment encompassing the bulge the hooks are attached to the outer row of eyes 10. This arrangement of the hooks and eyes is illustrated in Fig. 2 where the garment parts are set to accommodate a pregnant woman having a relatively low abdominal bulge.

It will be understood that as the bulge becomes more pronounced both rows of hooks 34 can be arranged in the manner just described.

It should be mentioned that merely having a linearly disposed row of hooks cross from one linear row of eyes to another linear row of eyes does not increase the girth of the garment at the boundaries of a selected zone as smoothly as is required in a foundation garment, and that it is only due to the presence of a resilient panel 60 adjacent the hooks and eyes that I am able to effect a gradual change of girth from adjacent that circumferential zone of the garment where a hook engages an inner eye to adjacent that circumferential zone where a hook engages an outer eye. Intermediate these two portions of the garment the resilient panel is variably stressed and provides a uniform increase in girth. In addition, the loosely woven fabric panels 12 stretch on the bias andthus keep the garment smooth in the immediate area between an eye in an inner row and an eye in an outer row where the row of hooks crosses between the rows of eyes.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a foundation garment which achieves the several objects of this invention, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A maternity foundation garment which opens vertically and comprises a row of linearly arranged, uniformly vertically spaced halves of a detachable attaching means along one edge or the opening, a pair of laterally spaced, linearly arranged, similarly vertically spaced, parallelrows of other halves of said detachable attaching means along the other edge of the opening, a resilient panel adjacent one of the edges of said opening, and a flattened tube of knitted fabric anchored at its opposite ends adjacent opposite lateral edges of said resilient panel, said tube being longer when said tube and panel are unstressed than the distance between the anchoringpoints whereby when the garment is off a wearer slack is present along the length of said tube.

2. A maternity foundation garment which opens vertically and comprises a row of linearly arranged, uniformly vertically spaced halves of a detachable attaching means along one edge of the opening, a pair of laterally spaced, linearly arranged, similarly vertically spaced, parallel rows of other halves of said detachable attaching means along the other edge of the opening, a resilient panel adjacent one of the edges of said opening, and a flattened obliquely disposed tube of knitted fabric anchored at its opposite ends adjacent opposite lateral edges of said resilient panel, said tube being longer when said tube and panel are unstressed than the distance between the anchoring points whereby when the garment is oil? a wearer slack is present along the length of said tube.

3. A vertically opening maternity foundation garment for controlling the buttocks, hips and abdomen, said garment having a row of linearly arranged uniformly vertically spaced halves of a detachable attaching means along one edge of the opening and a pair of laterally spaced, linearly arranged similarly vertically spaced, parallel rows of other halves of said detachable attaching means along the other edge of the opening whereby a portion of the first-named row of halves may be attached to a portion of one of the second-named row of halves and an adjacent portion of the first-named row of halves may be attached to a portion of the other of the second-named row of halves which is higher or lower than the mentioned portion of said one of the second-named row of halves to accommodate a pre-natal abdominal bulge, and a resilient panel adjoining one edge of the opening and extending vertically substantially the full height of the garment to provide a gradual and uniform change in the girth of the garment intermediate the circumferential portion of the garment where the first-named row of halves is attached to one of the second-named row of halves and the circumferential portion of the garment where the first-named row of halves is attached to the other of the second-named row of halves and to keep the garment unwrinkled and smooth between said circumferential portions.

4. A vertically opening maternity foundation garment for controlling the buttocks, hips and abdomen, said garment having a row of linearly arranged uniformly vertically spaced halves of a detachable attaching means along one edge of the opening and a pair of laterally spaced, linearly arranged similarly vertically spaced, parallel rows of other halves of said detachable attaching means along the other edge of the opening whereby a portion of the first-named row of halves may be attached to a portion of one of the second-named row of halves and an adjacent portion of the first-named row of halves may be attached to a portion of the other of the secondnamed row of halves which is higher or lower than the mentioned portion of said one of the second-named row of halves to accommodate a pre-natal abdominal bulge, a resilient panel adjoining one edge of the opening and extending vertically substantially the full height of the garment to provide a gradual and uniform change in the girth of the garment intermediate the circumferential portion of the garment where the first-named row of halves is attached to one of the second-named row of halves and the circumferential portion of the garment where the firstnamed row of halves is attached to the other of the second-named row of halves, and a loosely woven strip of fabric secured beneath and extending laterally to both sides of said pair of rows of other halves of detachable attaching means to keep the garment unwrinkled and smooth between said circumferential portions.

SAMUEL L. WELSCH. 

